Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Verdolaga is the Spanish name for a common garden weed known as purslane or pigweed in English. It is widely eaten in the Middle East both in salads and cooked like spinach. It has a reputation for curative powers going back to the ancient Greeks. It’s extremely good for you, in fact, purslane has more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other vegetable plant.

For more info on storage, perparation and recipes, download Just Food’s Purslane Tip Sheet.

Squash Blossoms

Squash blossoms (also sometimes called “zucchini flowers”) are cheap and plentiful in Latin America, where they are called flores de calabaza, but around here they’re mostly a farmers’ market delicacy. Nutritionally, the flowers are similar to lettuce; you’d have to eat a lot to get much out of them. Aesthetically, however, they can bring a dish to life with a splash of color and texture. Depending on who you ask, they taste like popcorn or something slightly sweet and nutty; or, more poetically, like pure summer and squash perfume. There are many ways to cook and enjoy these beauties—fried, baked, souped-up or stuffed.

Now, when it comes to squash blossoms, there is one very important but simple question: is it a boy or a girl?

Male blossoms grow from the branches of the squash; female blossoms bear fruit. Male blossoms will be downy, even hairy to the touch; female blossoms will have a soft, fleshy ovary center behind the blossom—which develops into the fruit; the male won’t.

Why is this important? Well, it may be a matter of taste. Some say the male blossom is preferable because the lump of squash ovary is not there. Easier to prepare and eat. Others say the female blossom is not only plump but succulent. This fruitier blossom is delectable. One thing is for certain, there are more male flowers than female flowers on each plant, and the male flowers keep longer. Fruitier female squash blossoms spoil quickly and should be prepared and served on the same day they are picked. Male blossoms will keep a few days. Male blossoms appear first. The female flower will contain a 4-part pistil in the center.

Store: Squash blossoms are very perishable. Arrange them on paper towel lined tray, refrigerate and use within one day. Male blossoms will keep for 1 week at 50ºF (10°C) and 2 to 4 days at 40ºF (4°C). Chilling injury will occur if held for several days at temperatures below 50ºF (10°C). You can also freeze, can, pickle, or dry squash blossoms. If cooked, blossoms will store in the freezer for 6 to 8 months.

Prepare: Open and inspect squash blossoms for insects before using them. Pull off and discard the green calyxes surrounding the bottom of the blossom. Clean blossoms by gently swishing them in a bowl of cold water. Shake them dry. Trim or snip out the anthers or style.

Recipe: Squash Blossom Quesadilla

Delicate flores de calabaza (squash blossoms) are delicious in quesadillas, soups, and tacos or simply battered and fried on their own.

2 8″ flour tortillas

1 cup grated queso oaxaca, a creamy Mexican string cheese

5 fresh squash blossoms

1 tbsp. canola oil

Salsa

1. Top one flour tortilla with 1/2 cup grated cheese. Trim squash blossoms and remove and discard their stamens. Arrange squash blossoms over the cheese, overlapping them slightly. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and tortilla.

2. Heat canola oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook quesadilla, flipping once, until cheese is melted and quesadilla is golden brown on both sides, 4–5 minutes in all. Transfer to a plate, cut into quarters, and serve immediately, with salsa, if you like.

Thanks to Gina for hosting our amazingly spicy “Hot Sauce Get Together”! We’ve managed to come up with FIVE different recipes using up several pounds of Serranos and Cayannes. We HIGHLY recommend handling the peppers with disposable rubber gloves and occasionally goggles to avoid injuries. With so many taste tests, everyone felt the HEAT!!! Hope this inspires you to try it at home. Here are some highlights:

Cut stems off peppers and cut peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and ribs. Preheat broiler. Place peppers, cut side down, on rack in broiler pan. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the skin blisters and blackens. Transfer peppers to a plastic bag for about 10 minutes. When cool, peel off skins(we actually left them on!).

Place chile pulp and garlic in a blender or food processor. With machine running, slowly add the vinegar until the mixture is well blended. Add salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate. Will keep in the refrigerator for weeks. Makes about 1 cup.

Most of the recipes we found called for vinegar and garlic beyond that there is a million ways to mix and match and get creative with hot peppers!!! Try adding apple sauce, tomatillos or corn…Have fun and send in your creations to tribeca-csa@googlegroups.com!

News from La Baraja

After a cold spring and a rainy summer, you may have already noticed the tomatoes around NY region have been greatly affected. We learned from Pedro today that this year it takes about 20 minutes and a lot of searching to find enough tomatoes to harvest and fill one box, unlike last year when tomatoes were abundant and a box filled in 5 minutes. Pedro said Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain, affected this outcome. Check out a recent article about tomato blight in the NY Times.

Pedro reports that he and his family are working hard going to farmers markets 6 days per week and doing 2 on Saturdays. They are not yet profitable enough to pay others to work their stands so their schedule during the summer/fall looks like this:
wake up early, harvest, go to market, return home, weed and harvest again, sleep a few hours and repeat. The only day they don’t do market is Monday, the day they harvest for the Tribeca CSA!

Enjoy this weeks harvest and thanks to all our members who share pics, tips and recipes! Keep them coming…

Vegetable Highlight: Corn

Perhaps no vegetable is more representative of summer than corn on the cob. Most of us are already familiar with corn, but did you know that storing corn with the husk on will make it keep longer? Once the husk has been removed, corn can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge, but keeping the husk on will stretch that to a week. The best way to store husked corn is in a perforated plastic bag in the fridge.

The common method of preparing corn is to boil it and serve with salt and butter. But it can also be grilled (with the husk on or off), broiled (husk off), or even microwaved (husk on)!

Nutritionally, corn is a great source of fiber, vitamin B1, B6, folate, and vitamin C. It is also said to be good for cardiovascular and lung health. So eat all the corn you can stand while it’s fresh and at its peak!

Recipe: Mexican Street Corn

4 ears sweet corn, husks removed

2 tablespoons corn oil

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 lime, quartered

Special equipment: grill pan

Directions

Preheat a grill pan. Rub corn with oil and place on the grill pan, turning corn so all sides are charred, about 6 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together mayonnaise, chili powder, garlic salt, and black pepper. Remove corn from grill and brush with the mayonnaise mixture. Serve with lime quarters to squeeze over corn.

Vegetable Highlight: Papalo or Summer Cilantro

Papaloquelite, known as papalo or summer cilantro, is a Mexican and Central American herb. The leaves have a warm pungency like cilantro with a hint of citrus and a more powerful flavor. I recommend using about 1/3 as much papalo as cilantro when preparing salsa and then adjust flavor to your taste. In Mexico, restaurants often place a little vase of papalo cuttings on the table and the diner adds leaves as desired.

The use of Papaloquelite, also called “butterfly herb,” predates the introduction of cilantro to Mexico by thousands of years. It’s easy to understand why cilantro, with its similar flavor, was so quickly adopted. It is used for salsas, sandwiches, guacamole, salads or simply sprinkled over rice and beans. The flavor is lost when cooked.

Recipe: Papalo Salsa

2 roasted and deseeded chopped chili peppers

2 roasted and deseeded green peppers, chopped

3 small green tomatoes, chopped

4 roasted garlic cloves

6 papalo leaves

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

salt

2 spoonfuls of minced onion

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and let sit in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.

Work Shift Commitment Active member participation is integral to making our brand of CSA sustainable. It’s the work you put in that allows our growers to allocate more resources towards producing the best produce they can. By facilitating the marketing and distribution locally, we save our small farms from the ... Continue reading →